Thread for anyone struggling at the thought of long dark evenings #hotchocandhyggetypesnotyourthread

[Hobnobswantshernameback]

I hate the long dark evenings.
I know they are inevitable.
But every year is worse. Think it's also coupled to menopause symptoms where my general mood and anxiety levels are dreadful.
During the working week November to T he end of February I barely see daylight.
I try and get as much as I can but it's tricky to get outside during the working day
i take vitamin D. I exercise as much as I can.
I do try and embrace the seasons. But I just feel really daunted this year by the thought of it being dark so early
anyone want to commiserate or share any coping strategies
And no I don't want to snuggle under a blankie with a hot choc
just in case anyone thinks that's what I need 😂

This bit is the worst bit for me. I start to feel so much better after Christmas when I can see the light lasting longer in the evenings, even by only a tiny amount.

It doesn’t help with the mud, of course. I look forward to the first dog walk of spring that I can do in trainers and that doesn’t require me to hose the dog down then dry him off afterwards. The mud nearly tips me over the edge.

That'll teach me to RTFT properly😁
Thank you for this genuinely cheering and helpful update!
And the reminder to start Vit D'ing (am already chugging B complex) . .

my thinking ‘twin’. Really struggling this year, not helped by a house move to a really enclosed, dark terrace where it’s never seems to get dry outside or see sunshine. Hating it and hate myself for being a Debbie downer.

Have you tried an SAD lamp?

Why won't I learn to go out in the mornings when it is sunny and not wait till lunchtime when it is pissing down again?

We had a respite from the rain so I went for a walk in the woods at lunchtime. Was revelling being outdoors in nature, then went off track, had to climb over fallen trees and got stuck in stagnant water and my cashmere socks are now stained with god knows what. Boots are soaking so can't go out out anytime soon as they will take an age to dry. Lovely.

I feel only bank robberies, illegal drugs and plotting and accomplishing murder followed by a disco could make me happy in November.

thanks for the laugh

I hate the winter, autumn lovers are psychos as far as I'm concerned. Funnily enough this isn't the worst bit for me - always seems very busy in the run up to Christmas so after the initial shock of the horrible wet and dark I'm pretty distracted. January and February yes and March can all fuck off though.

my only tip is to try and get out to something/somewhere bright and cheerful as much as possible. A music group or exercise class or just local pub quiz. being around noise and lights and other people helps dispel the feeling of becoming buried under water, wet leaves and mud.

We didn't have much of an autumn in London. Gone straight from hot and sunny to pissing rain and gloom. Barely enough time for autumn leaves.

I've gone out today and bought some solar lights for the patio bit outside the bifolds...... Hoping this will break up the big black nothingness outside at least for a few hours in the evening.
I think they'll probably be a bit piddly, but might inspire DH to give me a hand getting a more permanent solution...

I went for a walk with the dogs in the pissing rain this morning, I really hate the damp wet days of winter with squelching mud. I don’t understand where people get the fantasy of endless autumn mornings crunching through the brightly coloured leaves! Granted we do get snow where I live every year (and I can already see it on the mountains) but I’d need to get a chairlift or some serious climbing ropes to reach it 😂

I’ve booked in for festive craft classes to make wreaths and garlands from next Tuesday for 3 weeks. I collected soggy pine cones this morning and added oranges, limes and lemons to my food shop this week to dry for them too.

We put lights in the garden last year and it does make a difference, although with the cost of electricity I don’t think we’ll be using them much this winter.

my only tip is to try and get out to something/somewhere bright and cheerful as much as possible. A music group or exercise class or just local pub quiz. being around noise and lights and other people helps dispel the feeling of becoming buried under water, wet leaves and mud.

I went to a cheery restaurant yesterday and spent 3 hours there as I now WFH. It did help, but I don't think I can afford to do this daily.

YY to the dog walks in the pissing rain - absolute hate them. Now drying my clothes and his harness and coat on the radiator (sod the heating bills), and had to bath him as he was so muddy - so I now have a soaking wet dog running about with the zoomies. Give me dog walks in the long summer evenings with the sun still warm on our faces. I wonder if he’d swap his walks for snuggies under blankies with a puppucino?

I’m in the process of changing jobs, hopefully compressed days will
leave 3-4 days to get outside in the fresh air more than I currently do, plus some.time to try new things. S.A.D lamps are ok, but the real outdoors is better 🤞

Yes I struggle with it too. It has been wet and miserable in Glasgow this week and dark by 4pm. November is just the pits. It gets darker so much more sooner as the month progresses and it's just urgh and horrid.

On the countdown to the solstice on 21st December, after that it starts getting lighter again and makes it all seem a bit more hopeful.

What the Hygge-Huns don't get is that it's not about the temperature. It's about the LIGHT. Or more precisely, the lack of it. I want to have options of doing things in the daylight after 4.30pm and I don't have that. Dark isn't cosy, it's restricting and miserable. Roll on those glorious June days where even at midnight there's a glow of light to the north. Amazing.

I am hating it too, particularly this year for some reason. For a lot of people, being home is not going to as cosy as usual too.

However I am looking forward to going skiing - I love the winter sun and getting so warm in the snow that I take my ski jacket off and have a cold drink on the slopes.

Other than that I try and use the opportunity to get my tax return, CPD etc done, and spend time with family and friends.

One thing the hygge lovers also miss is how all the dark restricts things
my walking and running routes have all changed due to either park gates being closed after a certain time which in winter is before I even leave work
or
i choose not to use certain routes as they just don't feel safe in the dark
i can't work from home or leave work before 3.30
So no idea how the hot choc brigade would solve that

I would second this. We did it two years running. Couldn’t believe the difference it made.

How did you cope with the return to the UK? We were on holiday recently and I found I really struggled with a return to the horrible weather and short days.

Coming back was the usual post holiday blues 😂 but it was a whole week of sunshine and felt like an infusion of warmth and light and it made the weeks until the days here got lighter shorter

If only we could bottle the light and bring it home with us! DH and I plan to head abroad for the winter months each year when we retire - I cannot wait.

I hate the fact that it’s so wet, clammy and unseasonably mild at the moment. Too damp to be comfortable, not cold enough to justify the heating, and towels just refuse to dry out after being used. And the mud…

I wouldn’t mind a proper winter with clear, crisp mornings and a bit of snow. But sadly those are an endangered species at the moment.

It’s certainly wet here - but I’m not sure it’s unseasonably mild, it’s 9 degrees with a breeze here, but so feeling colder. The damp and the mud is grim , isn’t it?

Well DD has norovirus and is throwing up merrily. Very un-hygge. Feel like hibernating for the rest of the winter.

It’s been really windy here today so I stripped the beds and got 4 loads of washing done, hung out and dried, happy days! It’s really mild for November. I went for a very blowy walk with the dogs earlier that was really nice and blew the cobwebs away a bit. I’ve been browsing Netflix for box sets to watch so will start with Bridgerton tonight. So far I have The Crown and Stranger Things, other recommendations welcome.

I think if I didn't work full time it wouldn't be so bad. 5.15 today felt like it could have been 11.15pm. I then don't go to bed until stupidly late and I'm tired the next day. Feel jetlagged.